Dante laid in the filtration chamber wearing a latex body stocking and waiting for the process to begin.  A song played over the speakers that he recognized from when he was a child but he couldn’t remember the name of the song or who sang it (that was mostly due to the sedatives).  There were long, glowing tubes on either side of him, emitting bright blue light and in spite of the numbing effects of the sedatives, he could feel the heat.  “What is the name of this damn song?,” he wondered to himself.  The lights got brighter and the sedatives began to fully kick in as he started to drift to sleep.  The lyrics “let’s set the world on fire, we can burn brighter than the sun” echoed in his ears and the heat got worse and the lights got brighter.  “Was it actually called ‘We Are Young’ or is it one of those songs that has a chorus everyone knows but the title is something else?,” he thought to himself.  The next thing he remembered was the blinding light and the lyrics “maybe we can find new ways to fall apart”.  He didn’t remember what happened next any more than he could remember the song, however.  His body dissolved under the wave of energy, broken down to free floating molecules by a substance mined from a dying star by a race of beings far more advanced than humans.  Then those molecules were stitched back together in a completely different order.  DNA was rewritten and power was given to a 17 year old boy that was never meant to have them.  As he was coming to, he could hear the chanting at the end of the song, “na na nananana na-naaa nananana na-na…”. He was barely conscious but the words “the angels never arrived” were stuck in his head.

WEEK FOUR

The pain lasted for almost a week and was unlike anything they had experienced before.  They would often describe it as feeling like they had been torn apart which was not an untrue statement.  Nausea, deliriousness and fatigue were common symptoms.  Alexis sat in the hospital cafeteria eating pudding from a cup.  Kaley sat at a table in front of them, occasionally turning to glance in their direction. After the fourth glance, Alexis finally snapped, “Why do you keep looking at me?”

“Sorry,” Kaley apologized and turned away, which made Alexis feel guilty.

“No, I’m sorry.  I just still feel like shit and I’m not in a good mood. My legs just started working again yesterday.”

“No, like, I know I keep staring,” Kaley turned in her seat, “I’ll stop. I just really like your channel.”

“Thanks,” they smiled a little, “I liked your show.”

“Cool,” Kaley smiled warmly and quickly turned around, making a mental note to stop staring. She wasn’t just star-struck. It was a crush.

“Guess who’s back,” Da Mutt burst into the cafeteria wearing sunglasses and headphones over his ears, “No more rashes on my ass and better than that, check this,” Mutt leapt into the air and landed on the corner of a table with perfect balance, “I already got my powers mastered.” He back-flipped unnecessarily and landed flat-footed on the floor, “I bet ya’ll still haven’t figured your shit out yet.”

Alexis gave a sullen glance in his direction, “Didn’t they enhance your senses too?”

“Yeah, I can see everything in 4k and hear a fly’s wings flapping and shit. I can even tell who you are by smell. Yeah, everyone’s got a smell by the way.”

“Is that why you have sunglasses inside and headphones without any music? Having trouble dealing with your senses?”

“Nah, I’m good!”

Alexis’ fingers began to shift in size like silly-puddy. Once they were elongated to their satisfaction, they turned and reached out, their wrists stretching long enough to remove the sunglasses and headset from Da Mutt. “Oh, dip,” Mutt closed his eyes and covered his ears then snatched his belongings back from Alexis’ grip, “I’m also a lot stronger now so don’t think you can hold on to my shit with your stretchy hands or whatever.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t want to come near you again.”

“I’m glad you guys have some idea about using your powers. I’m supposed to create portals,” Kaley twirled her finger a bit, generating round sparks of light that quickly fizzled out, “I’m working on it.”

“Have either of you seen Dante or Kyle?,” Mutt randomly began balancing himself on the back of a chair.

“Dante’s still in bed,” Alexis explained, “He really got it bad.”

“He’s so beat.”

“He’s supposed to be the team heavy-hitter, whatever that means,” Kaley explained, “He took more energy than the rest of us. That shit’s gotta hurt so just stop being you for a second.”

There was a tap on the cafeteria window that suddenly got everyone’s attention. When they turned in the direction of the noise, they saw some grass getting kicked up outside by a strong gust of wind. Before any of them could ask a question, the doors burst open once more and there was another gust of wind, this time, inside the building. Kyle seemingly appeared out of thin air, stumbling forward before hitting his mid-section against some tables, nearly knocking over all the chairs. “Ompf,” he grunted as he tried to stop himself, “Sorry, that wasn’t as graceful as I planned.”

“How’s that super speed?,” Mutt chuckled, “You should’ve just stuck with increased speed like me. I’m faster and shit but I don’t run into things like a chump.”

“Do you ever shut up?,” Alexis growled.

“I know, right?,” Kyle straightened out the table and chairs, “You’re always trying to be a chad.”

“Whatever. Ya’ll jealous.”

“I’m not jealous of anything. I’ve seen you rap,” Kyle snickered.

“What would you know about rap?”

“You’re both wrong and right,” Alexis sneered, “Mutt does suck at rap and Kyle is way too whitebread to know anything about it anyway.”

“Hey, let’s just stop,” Kaley quickly began to diffuse the situation, “How `bout we check on Dante?”

Dante was still in his hospital bed with a TV on the wall across the room. He appeared bored as he flipped through the channels, eventually stopping on a news program once he noticed footage of what appeared to be a warzone. “Columbian authorities continue to struggle against cartels along the coast of the Caribbean Sea near Santa Marta,” the news caster reported, “The cartels recently unified after receiving weapons believed to be shipped by a criminal organization in Costa Tri -” The remaining teens quickly came into the room so he put the TV on mute.

“Hey, Dante. How ya feel’n?,” Alexis asked.

“Like shit,” he answered as he sat up in bed and showed his IV, “The doctors got me hooked up to all this and I’m supposed to call them if I need anything.”.

“They got you on morphine or anything?,” Mutt asked.

“Nah, just Tylenol.”

“Too bad.”

“Yeah, drugs are cool. We get it,” Kyle rolled his eyes.

“Just say no, kids,” A doctor came in with a white coat and surgical mask, “Or as I said in my PSA for DARE, ‘be smart about drugs’. Granted, the DARE program was almost as poorly handled as the Upstarts Program so what would I know?”

“I didn’t call anyone,” Dante curiously looked down at the various buttons on his bed.

The doctor removed his surgical mask, exposing the face of Ryan Bennings, “No, you did not. I had to use a little subterfuge to get in here so excuse the flimsy but surprisingly practical disguise. Of course, it helps that I did a little hacking of Craig Levison’s phone asking for all medical and security personnel to meet outside for photo ops. Anyway,… hello, kids. I’m TV’s Ryan Bennings.”

“Oh shit,” Da Mutt brought his fist up to his mouth, “That’s the Brain Boy!”

Ryan’s brow furrowed, “You have carte blanche to call me literally any other name but that.”

“That’s awesome,” Dante tried his best to get out of bed but the pain shooting through his body told him it wasn’t a good idea, “Are you gonna be on the show or something?”

“Nope,” Ryan turned to Kaley, “Kaley Chen, star of One Smart Cookie. I never saw the show but I know the premise; how did Craig Levison ever think of a show about a child genius solving mysteries?”

Kaley laughed, “It’s funny because, apparently, during the pitch meeting, Craig said the show was ‘basically a live action Brain Boy but that Brain Boy would be a girl and not an ungrateful jerkoff’ or something like that.”

“That checks out.”

“Okay but can we go back to you sneaking in here?,” Kyke asked, “Why did you need a disguise and everything?”

“I wouldn’t have been allowed in here if I asked, more than likely. I wanted to talk to you, though, so here I am.”

“So you’re a full grown man sneaking into a hospital to talk to some kids?,” Alexis asked, “That’s pretty sus.”

“When you fully verbalize it, sure. Listen, you are all aware of me and my dealings with Levison,” Ryan’s demeanor changed, “This whole TV show-slash-super soldier program is a bad idea. People your age have no business getting involved in the superhero world and probably shouldn’t be involved in the entertainment industry either. Right now, you’re basically getting screwed from two different angles and it can only end tragically. It sounds fun at first but guys like Levison live to exploit people like you,” he replaced the mask, “I just wanted to get that off my chest. If you guys don’t want me around, I’ll bounce.”

“I don’t mind,” Dante was the first to speak up, “I’ve been watching your old cartoon. I’m okay with it.”

“But he’s not supposed to be here,” Kyle grumbled.

“Oh my god,” Alexis sighed loudly, “I’m okay with it because he’s not.”

“That’s just petty,” Kyle shook his head.

“Maybe you can help us learn about our powers better,” Kaley said as she once again tried to open a portal.

“Sure. If it helps keep you alive.”

“How you gonna tell us about our powers when you don’t got any?,” Mutt asked.

“The living embodiment of the failed American education system brings up a good point,” Ryan moved to the door, “Having a robust knowledge of practically every scientific discipline on Earth makes me know a thing or two about, say, how to use superspeed for things other than running fast or how kinetic energy works. Anyway, I’ll be in touch.” With that, he left.

Dante turned to Kyle, “Please don’t tell nobody. That dude’s funny as hell. Besides, maybe he can help us out with our powers. I mean, I can barely get out of bed and I don’t know what’s going on with me right now. `Sides that, he’s the only one to really come check on me. I mean, except for you guys.”

“Alright, whatever,” he shrugged, “But if he gets caught, it’s on him.”

WEEK FIVE

Once everyone was released from the hospital, the Upstarts were all called early in the morning and sent to the trailer outside the mansion for makeup and costuming (they were all given matching silver and blue tights with a U-symbol on the right breast). They were then ushered into the dining area where they saw the camera crew had already set up. After they sat down, the director told them not to eat the food since it could get on the costumes; they were only meant to poke around at the food to make it look like they were eating. Craig came in after a few minutes, “Don’t worry, guys. You’ll get to eat a real meal after you do the press release,” he turned to Dante, “How are you feeling, Dante?”

“I’m okay but I’m still a little sore,” he admitted.

“Great,” Craig gave him a quick pat on the back and continued to address the teens, “Everyone, make sure you return the costumes back to wardrobe before you eat. Let’s go outside and meet the press. You don’t have to say much since I’ll do most of the talking. Just make a quick introduction about yourselves and say a few words about how excited you are.”

Craig rushed everyone down the hall to the foyer. The large double doors were closed but the Upstarts could see a swarm of reporters through the tall windows. “Smiles, everyone,” Craig grasped the handles, “Time to make yourselves look good.” And with that, he threw the doors open.